Claims about the potential health benefits of food products are particularly sensitive from a regulatory perspective. European law imposes detailed requirements on statements which suggest or imply a relationship between a food, one of its ingredients and human health. That includes statements concerning the contribution of a nutrient to a normal bodily function. A statement does not necessarily have to contain the word \u201chealth\u201d to qualify as a health claim. The decisive question is whether the statement declares, suggests or implies a relationship between a food or one of its components and health.<\/p>\n
The central legal framework is Regulation (EC) No 1924\/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. It is intended to ensure that claims used in food labelling, presentation and advertising are clear, accurate and supported by scientific evidence.<\/p>\n
Health claims are subject to stricter requirements than ordinary marketing statements. Authorised claims and the applicable conditions for their use must be taken into account. The European Commission maintains an EU Register containing permitted nutrition claims as well as authorised and non-authorised health claims.<\/p>\n
Particular care is therefore required when developing product names, packaging, websites, social media campaigns and other advertising material for food products and food supplements.<\/p>\n
A regulatory issue may arise where the competent authority considers that a statement used in connection with a product constitutes an unauthorised health claim or does not satisfy the conditions under which an authorised claim may be used.<\/p>\n
The first legal question is often one of\u00a0classification: Does the wording actually constitute a health claim within the meaning of European legislation? If it does, it must then be determined whether the claim is permissible and whether all applicable conditions are fulfilled.<\/p>\n
The assessment cannot necessarily be limited to an isolated sentence. Images, symbols and other forms of presentation may also constitute a \u201cclaim\u201d where they state, suggest or imply that a food has particular characteristics.<\/p>\n
We advise food businesses facing regulatory proceedings or enquiries concerning health claims in Germany.<\/p>\n
We can assess whether the disputed statement constitutes a health claim, determine which European requirements apply and review whether the relevant claim and its use are permissible. We also examine the wider presentation of the product, including packaging and advertising.<\/p>\n
Where an authority has already contacted the business, we can handle correspondence with the authority and prepare the necessary legal submissions. We can also assist businesses in adapting claims or marketing materials where this provides an appropriate solution.<\/p>\n
For international food businesses, we can coordinate the regulatory assessment with the marketing of the product in other European jurisdictions and provide a central point of contact for cross-border matters.<\/p>\n
Claims about the potential health benefits of food products are particularly sensitive from a regulatory perspective. European law imposes detailed requirements on statements which suggest or imply a relationship between a food, one of its ingredients and human health. That includes statements concerning the contribution of a nutrient to a normal bodily function. A statement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":56411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t